Haunting
by Chibi's Sister
Summary: Halloween oneshot. Sequel to Spirit. Kaiba battles with himself as he waits on Halloween night, but his ghostly visitor ever appear? Blueshipping.


A/N: This follows "Spirit" and may be difficult to understand if you have not read "Spirit." I apologize for any errors as I was working under a deadline.

Haunting 

The sky outside the window had darkened to a velvety black and stars had sprinkled themselves over it like scintillating diamonds, I noticed, as I looked up to take a swig of coffee. Then I turned back to the computer without a second glance. The new virtual reality game I was designing had some serious kinks that needed to be worked out if we were going to get the game on the market by Christmas.

It was Halloween, that irrational, superstitious holiday that so enthralled the general public. I didn't care for it myself, of course. I'd given the staff the night off, knowing they'd all take off anyway, and let Mokuba go off to a party with some friends from school, after their background checks had come clean, because I didn't want him getting any ideas about pranking my office or trying to armtwist me into going to whatever party the dork patrol was holding this time around. Not to mention because he's my brother and I do want him to have a good time, however little I personally care for his activity of choice.

So here I was, alone in the house on Halloween night. Not that I was concerned—when a bunch of pranksters had tried egging the mansion five years ago all but one lucky kid had landed in the hospital. We hadn't been bothered since. As for things that go bump in the night, I didn't believe in that kind of crap. Maybe if I did I would be out passing little blobs of colored sugar to kids in strange getups like everyone else, but I wasn't. Just as well as I seriously doubted any parent would let their child eat any candy that came from my doors (and just what did candy have to do with ghosts, anyway?) No, I had not lost my mind, even if the rest of the country had. I was in my office, churning out code and being as productive as I possibly could, simply ignoring all the spooky nonsense out there.

And doing a spectacularly abysmal job of lying to myself too, I might add. The house was empty; I'd sent everyone away. The sky was dark; so was the mansion. Everything as it had been, last year. And here I sat at my computer, uselessly trying to focus on game in front of me, waiting.

Waiting. What was I waiting for? Casper the Friendly Ghost to come flying through the window and have a little chat? A genie to spout out of the coffee pot and start granting wishes? Old business partners to appear on door handles? Duel monsters to come to life? I flinched; that last one hit a little too near the mark. Instinctively I reached for my deck, only to draw back my hand. _No_. I wasn't sure if I was pulling back from denial or from the principle that a watched pot never boils. Last time she had come upon me unawares and I suspected that was how she preferred it.

"_Last time? _It wasn't possible that I had begun to conceive of that…hallucination as something that had actually happened. What had happened last Halloween was purely the result of stress, prolonged work hours, and staring too long at a computer screen. It had made me start to imagine things, that was all. The mind was a strange place.

_Yes, and the heart also. _I sighed and turned back to the neglected coding, but a hint of a smile played on my lips. As much as my intellectual capacities protested, in my heart I found myself believing. She was real. She had been there. She would come back.

_Things that would otherwise be impossible are not so tonight._

I stared at the computer screen. It stared back at me. I blinked and reached for the coffee, only to find it cold and stale. How long had I been working? I checked my watch. _Over an hour…_ My eyes flew around the room, as if perhaps she was sitting there, waiting for me to notice her. She wasn't, of course. She wasn't there. Of course not.

I got up from the chair. Mokuba would be back soon, along with Roland whom I'd sent to keep an eye on him. I should really have turned on some lights and put away my work so Mokuba wouldn't scold me when he got back. But I didn't. I just stood there in silence for a little longer. Waiting.

I stepped over to the window. The stars still shone, bright pinpoints against the black canvass of night. Such faint little drops of light against the darkness…

I shook my head in disgust with myself. I was a businessman, a pragmatist, a realist. I didn't stare off into space making flowery observations or stay up all night waiting for ghosts. But still I stood there in my darkened study, staring up at the stars, stars as bright as her eyes. She would come, I had to believe that. I made myself a fresh pot of coffee and sat back down.

I fell to work again, only to find myself once more reaching for a cold, empty mug. I dragged my tired eyes around the room again, but without any hope. Empty. I sighed and got to my feet. The room seemed to have taken on a chill and an eerie feeling. I pulled on the trenchcoat I had draped over a chair, and wondered vaguely whether I should turn on the television. I switched it on, then switched it off again. I never could abide mindless drivel. I walked across the room, and then back again. I scowled, not knowing what to do with myself and hating the feeling. On impulse, I walked to the desk and took out my deck. One by one I flipped through the cards carefully, though I knew each one already, its name, abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and its purpose in my deck. I knew my cards better than my employees, maybe even better than I knew my own brother, I reflected as I held up the Rude Kaiser, Mokuba's favorite. I turned the next card over. It was, of course, the card I had been half-expecting to draw since I picked up the deck. The Blue Eyes White Dragon. The card I had been waiting for.

I considered it carefully. I had always loved the Blue Eyes, even before I had one of my own. It wasn't just its strength that attracted me, though it didn't hurt; it was something about the dragon itself, its pure, shimmering elegance. I turned the card to first one side then the other to see it shimmer in the light like I had done so many times. It glittered dully under the blue glow of the computer screen. It had no light of its own, not even the faintest gleam. It was dark, dark and dead. "So…" I muttered. "So you never came. So you never meant to come, did you? You were never even real, were you?"

I took to my feet, still muttering insanely to myself. "You were a hallucination after all, after all that. Just a dream—no, a nightmare." The room seemed so hushed; I wildly lashed out. "Yeah, that's right, a nightmare! Just a creepy thought about a creepy ghost girl who's not even there!" There was no reply. The silent darkness seemed a mockery. I continued, my tone growing louder and harsher with every word. "It's a good thing, too. Who'd want her to be there? Who'd want her? Who'd want some ghost girl who never even comes?" I turned to the window, to the stars. "You never came! I waited for you, I sat here, in the dark, _waiting_, and you couldn't be bothered!" I suddenly became aware that I was shouting. I looked down at the card still in my hand and gritted my teeth. "Well I can't be bothered either," I said. "I have a company to run. Besides, I don't believe in ghosts." I opened a desk drawer and dropped the card inside and shut it, with a sudden display of violence. I sat down, feeling angry, lonely, irrational, and so very, very dark.

I looked at my watch. Where was Mokuba, I thought snappishly. He ought to have been home an hour ago. Roland had better be keeping a close eye on him or he'd be looking for a job tomorrow. I shuffled through my cards, barely looking at them and put them away. I glanced at the unfinished programming, then closed the computer. Not tonight.

"Seto." The voice echoed through the room. I whirled. It couldn't be. The room was still dark, but that voice, that soft, sad voice…there it was again. "Seto."

I looked around blindly. Where…"Kisara?"

"Seto! Where are you, big brother?" My expression changed in a flash. Mokuba. He was home—but his voice, was he hurt?

I flipped on the lights hurriedly. "Mokuba! Mokuba, where are you?"

"Here, Mr. Kaiba." Roland's voice, and the door swung open. There was Roland looking frazzled in a ridiculous clown suit, and there was Mokuba, practically in his arms, looking pale and limp, with his hair and clothes wet and most of his face paint gone.

"What happened?" I demanded, relieving Roland of his burden. I put Mokuba on the chair, took my coat off and laid it over him.

Roland stiffened and began stammering nervously, but Mokuba interrupted him. "It was just a joke," he mumbled. "It was just supposed to be a prank…"

I raised my eyebrows and directed a fixed look at Roland. "_What _happened?"

Roland cleared his throat. "Ah, Mr. Mokuba and some of his friends decided it would be a, ah, a good practical joke to dye the city pool red. They left the party and snuck into the pool and began their work. It was dark, and…"

"I fell in," Mokuba said quietly. His tone was matter-of-fact, but a sensation of horror swept over me—Mokuba couldn't swim! My panic must have shown in my expression, because Mokuba smiled up at me and said, "I'm alright now, Seto."

"What…what happened?" I asked. I looked at Roland. "Did you dive in and get him?" I was prepared to double his salary at that very moment.

He looked sheepish. "No, sir, I'm afraid. You see it was very dark…I didn't even realize what had happened to Mr. Mokuba at first, and then when I did, I couldn't see where he was. I think the same must have been true for his friends, sir."

"Undoubtedly." My voice dripped irony. Mokuba would never see those kids again, even if I had to homeschool him myself. "But how did he get out?" I looked at Mokuba.

He shivered and tugged the trenchcoat around his shoulders. "The water was so cold, and dark, and…Seto, I thought I was going to die. But then I saw a light and there was this lady, and…"

"A lady?"

"She was all in white and had long, white hair—but she wasn't old, not even as old as Ishizu or Mai, maybe—and she took my hand and the next thing I knew I was on the side of the pool, coughing up water. She saved me."

Roland gave me a sheepish look, as if to say 'That's all I could get out him, must be the trauma.' But my head was whirling…

As soon as I could get Mokuba off to bed and send Roland away, I was back in my study alone. Slowly, I opened the desk drawer and took out the Blue Eyes. I ran a gentle finger over it and walked to the window. I stood there for a moment, just staring at the stars. I swallowed. "Thank you," I said softly. "Thank you for saving him. Thank you for being there when I needed you. Thank you, Kisara…for not coming."

The room was silent as ever, but it seemed the stars twinkled a little brighter. And then in the stillness I could hear a faint whisper, a woman's voice, soft and sad. _I am always with you, Seto._

The Blue Eyes glowed in my hand and then faded back to darkness. I smiled, then went to check on Mokuba.


End file.
